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Will the Apple Watch Transform Business?

After Apple recently unveiled a launch date for its much anticipated Apple Watch earlier this month, one of the key questions has been: what sort of application ecosystem will it support?

It turns out there are numerous apps the Apple Watch will support including apps from American Airlines (with flight reminders), Nike (for exercise data), Instagram (social), NPR (news) and much more.

Yet the Apple Watch will also support a host of business-based applications including Salesforce, Evernote, OfficeTime and more. Does it mean that wearable technology devices, a.k.a. “wearables” will now become more commonplace in the workplace? Salesforce seems to think so.

“Wearable devices present a tremendous opportunity for businesses to connect with customers, partners, employees and even products in a whole new way,” wrote Raj Mistry, senior vice president of solutions engineering at Salesforce, in a blog post.

The Salesforce app will feature Salesforce Analytics Cloud and Salesforce1, allowing users to get “a quick glance of your most recently viewed dashboard,” according to Salesforce. Apple watch wearers can interact with Salesforce data dashboards and use their voice to search for reports. Salesforce also says its watch app will allow organizations to deliver tailored notifications to employees including salespeople and service personal, so they can respond quickly in certain situations.

Yet will wearables transform the business environment like smartphones did? ABI Research forecasts that wearable device technologies will become an integral part of enterprise mobile enablement strategies over the next five years.